Find us on

Weak sperm linked to diet

Men eating an unbalanced diet with too much meat and full-fat diary products have particularly weak sperm, researchers from Spain’s University of Murcia have found.

Men who ate a good diet, with lots of fruit and vegetables, had much healthier sperm. It seems that antioxidants found in fruit and veg play a big part in male fertility.

The study showed men who ate foods like fruit and veg were more likely to conceive because of the vitamin, folic acid and fibre content. Men with a low antioxidant intake had weaker sperm, and so find they have a lower capacity to reproduce.

“In this study we have found that people who consume more fruits and vegetables are ingesting more antioxidants, and this is the important point,” said researcher Jaime Mendiola.

“Among the couples with fertility problems coming to the clinic, the men with good semen quality ate more vegetables and fruit than those men with low seminal quality,” he said.

Further research aims to discover whether getting antioxidants from supplements instead of foods makes a difference.

Have you managed to conceive after changing your diet? Let us know below…